'Jets do not cause wars and plague'

The aviation industry is at the heart of the battle to clean up the environment. Nothing better illustrates the ferocious argument raging between the Government and airlines over climate change than Environment Minister Ian Pearson's comment this month that: 'Ryanair are not just the unacceptable face of capitalism, they are the irresponsible face of capitalism.'

Dramatic growth of greenhouse gases from this booming sector - albeit from a low base - makes airlines an easy target for environmentalists.

Only last month, BA chairman Martin Broughton complained that the industry was seen as ' environmental pariahs - blinkered, polluting dinosaurs more interested in the next generation of mid-air mobiles than in the next generation'.

But according to the Stern report on the economics of climate change, worldwide aviation produces 1.6% of greenhouse emissions - less than one sixth of road transport. Stern estimates aviation's figures will reach five per cent by 2050 if the industry does nothing. And the UK aviation industry's share of global CO2 emissions is barely one tenth of one per cent.

But while it may not be the worst polluter, aviation is certainly the fastest-growing source. Air passenger traffic is forecast to more than double in the UK in the next 25 years, from 180m to 475m passengers a year.

The Government aims to slash UK emissions of greenhouse gases. But the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change at the University of East Anglia warns that if aviation continues to grow at current rates, by 2037 its emissions of CO2 would be equal to the total amount that Government targets envisage for the whole economy.

Faced by growing public concern - a recent survey by YouGov said that 60% of the public was concerned about aviation's impact on climate change - the industry has started to respond.

Not surprisingly, there is no real consensus among the leading players, with all the airlines taking their own particular path to going green.

At one extreme, inevitably, is Ryanair. The solution of its boss, Michael O'Leary, is to ban business class. Referring to the Stern Report, he says: 'There's a lot of misinformation and lies being put about by the eco-nuts on the back of a report put out by an idiot economist.

'If you listen to them, you would think aviation was responsible for melting the polar ice caps, heating up the globe by two per cent a year and for every war, pestilence and Sars epidemic.'

His solution is to outlaw old aircraft and remove business class to maximise seats on aircraft. 'We should pack them into economy class rather than have the fat and overpaid flying around on flat beds after they've all eaten and drunk their fine wines,' he says.

Sir Richard Branson, a green convert, has come up with a series of ideas. Planes in his Virgin Atlantic fleet are to be towed to the start of the runway rather than go under their own power, saving two tonnes of fuel per flight.

They will also be painted in special lightweight paint and the interiors made more weight-efficient, which will allow the planes to travel farther for the same amount of fuel. But his most ambitious plan is to power his planes within ten years with bio fuels made from crops.

BA claims it has already been environmentally conscious and has been arguing for the past seven years that aviation should be part of a Europe-wide system of emission trading.

Broughton's wish, and more, may come true. In November, the EC included aviation and went further, saying that all airlines using EC air space should be part of the scheme.

But the Stern endorsement of carbon trading was a major plus for BA. Broughton says: 'It is now clear that there need be no contradiction between measures to combat climate change and the pursuit of increased wealth.'

Carbon trading alone is not enough to combat greenhouse gases, admits BA. For that reason, it is encouraging its passengers to volunteer to take part in carbon off-setting.

But the scheme, which involves passengers cancelling out the effect of their flight emissions by paying for an equivalent reduction in emissions elsewhere, typically by helping to invest in a renewable energy project in the developing world, has not been a success. BA is looking at different ways of promoting this scheme.

Of all industries, aviation is the most aware of the importance of heeding public opinion. Doing nothing is not an option.

As Broughton said last month: 'There is a serious risk that airlines and the aviation industry could become demonised in the same way that tobacco companies and smoking have been during the past two decades.'